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RBC announces $10 million commitment to ONE DROP Foundation

First donation kicks off new RBC Blue Water Project
MONTREAL, Oct. 29 /CNW/ - Gordon Nixon, president and CEO of RBC, today
announced a $10 million, 10-year donation to support the ONE DROP Foundation.
With this donation, the largest ever given to a single organization in the
history of the company, RBC becomes a founding corporate partner of ONE DROP.
Established by Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil, ONE DROP
is dedicated to fighting poverty in the world by giving everyone access to
water. RBC's funding will help kick-start a ONE DROP program in Honduras, with
future funds to be directed towards projects in Canada and around the world.
"We want to mobilize people everywhere in the world to find sustainable
solutions to the problem of access to water and to adopt better practices for
the use of this precious resource," said Laliberté. "I am personally thrilled
to have RBC involved as our founding corporate partner, to help us spread the
important message at home and abroad. No one can remain indifferent when we
know that at least every eight seconds, a child dies from a disease caused by
drinking contaminated water."
"We're proud that ONE DROP is the first grant recipient from our RBC Blue
Water Project," said Nixon. "It is a privilege to be at the starting gate with
such an exciting, innovative organization. We fully intend to mobilize our
resources-our people, our brand, and our branches around the world - to
support this cause as well."
The RBC commitment to ONE DROP is the inaugural grant, officially kicking
off the new RBC Blue Water Project. Announced last week, the RBC Blue Water
Project is a $50 million, ten-year commitment to support charitable
organizations dedicated to finding global solutions to the water crisis. RBC
will provide grants to charitable organizations working in the areas of water
access, conservation, protection and education in Canada and around the world.
In order to ensure that the company's grants are meaningful and
significant, RBC will convene an international advisory panel in January 2008
comprising water experts, academics, and community and aboriginal leaders to
provide due diligence in finalizing RBC's funding priorities and guidelines.
The guidelines and priorities recommended by the panel, and the process for
applications will be made public in April 2008. Applications are not being
solicited until April 2008.
"This represents a new focus area for RBC, and it reflects our concern
for both the humanitarian and economic implications of global water
shortages," said Stephen Voisin, executive director, RBC Foundation. "Access
to water is one of the planet's most pressing issues. Over a billion people do
not have access to water in sufficient quantity or adequate quality. Almost
half of the world's population drinks untreated water."
RBC contributed more than $83 million to community causes worldwide in
2006, through donations of more than $42 million, and an additional $41
million in sponsorship of community events and organizations.
RBC is recognized among the world's financial, social and environmental
leaders. In 2007, RBC was ranked first among large corporations worldwide for
its ability to manage environmental risks and opportunities by Newsweek
magazine, and was named to the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index. RBC is
included on the Dow Jones World and North American Sustainability Indices, the
Jantzi Social Index, the FTSE4Good Index, and the Global 100 Most Sustainable
Corporations ranking. In 2007, RBC was named Canada's Best Corporate Citizen.
The company produces an annual Corporate Responsibility Report outlining
its sustainability performance.